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Sage Technology Boosts Power Industry Safety

Clinton Rodda (Sage) and Sandy Drummond (Energy Brix) shake on a safer tomorrow

Gippsland technology company leading a national push to protect maintenance workers involved in operating plant

By Michelle Edmunds - 8th October 2002 - Back to News

Award-winning Sage Technology, based in the Latrobe Valley, has just sealed a third major contract for its process driven, purpose-built Permit To Work software.

The system assists power station and process operators to efficiently manage the isolation of plant to help ensure the safety of staff involved in routine and emergency maintenance.

Sage Technology today announced a significant deal with Energy Brix to customize and implement the system, which it originally developed with Loy Yang power station employees for use at the Loy Yang power station and later tailored to Collinsville power station in Queensland.

Chief Operating Officer Clinton Rodda believes that Sage Technology is the only Australian company offering a process driven, fully integrated Permit to Work system for use in complex plants.

"This does more than print tags for equipment. Our software program automates the very strict procedures necessary to keep people safe and builds in security procedures that surpass what can be done manually. It also greatly improves the efficiency of plant isolation compared to manual systems" Mr Rodda said.

"A power station has lots of potentially hazardous equipment and environments including high voltage electricity and high pressure steam so when you do maintenance work on the plant you need to be able to guarantee safe access for workers.

"We’re setting a new benchmark for best practice in Permit to Work technology, providing safe access, rigorous cross-checking of isolation points, equipment tagging and the production of detailed audit records of permit to work activity."

Energy Brix Managing Director, Graeme Pleasance, sees the contract as being yet another milestone in Energy Brix’s quest for continuous improvement. "The health and safety of our workforce has always been our number one priority. Through the use of this system we aim to have a user friendly customised ‘permit to work system’ that improves safety even further and meets our operational efficiency requirements".

"Importantly, those who will work with the new system have been intimately involved in the evaluation and improvement process from day one. This will help guarantee the success of the project that uses the best available technology to provide safe access to work" Mr. Pleasance said.

Sage’s product took it’s biggest test during a 32-day Unit 3 outage at Loy Yang power station, which saw 1130 permits issued in 32 days to govern the work of 600 contractors and 650 staff over three shifts. The system is part of Loy Yang Power’s "5 star" accredited safety system.

Mr Rodda said the software had applications for power generation, oil and large manufacturing industries throughout Australia - and around the globe.

Importantly, the new contract will create highly skilled jobs for Sage’s Latrobe Valley business, which may flow on into its operations in Sale and Dandenong.

Sage Technology is a leading light in regional business, having won 2001 Victorian Engineering Excellence Awards for Workplace Practice, Engineering Innovation and Industrial Development of Manufacturing.

Source: www.gippsland.com

Published by: news@gippsland.com

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